GaaSaku Month 2015
by everyday0203
Summary: Stories for prompts given for each day of this glorious month!
1. Festivities

Festivities - Prompt #1 for GaaSaku Month 2015!

* * *

"OK everyone! Fill up your drinks! Midnight is fast approaching!"  
Sakura watched as a collective excitement ran through the crowd as people started gravitating toward the kitchen to refill their glasses. Contemplating the remains of her drink, she debated on whether or not she needed to get more.  
Well, it wan't that she necessarily _needed_ more alcohol, it was more of a question of want.

She had been dreading the holidays for a few months now.  
She had covertly ducked out of Thanksgiving and spent a quiet night to herself full of pampering and fatty foods.  
Christmas, however, couldn't be avoided. But between running around from house to house visiting friends and their families, the holiday sped by and she didn't have time to reflect on the dark and empty apartment she returned to before she collapsed exhausted on her bed.  
New Years Eve was an entirely different monster and her lack of date she had brought haunted her around every corner.

She could see Ino's sympathy plastered all over her face when she walked through the door. "Ino, I'd like for you to meet my date." Sakura joked as she held up two bottles of wine.  
"Oh, honey." Ino stated sympathetically as she gave her friend a hug. "Maybe there will be a few single guys here tonight."  
Sakura flinched. All of the single guys left in Konoha were either too old, super young, or there were blatant reasons as to why they were still single.  
"I'll be alright."  
"Just promise you'll stick around until midnight. _I'd_ like to wish you a Happy New Year at least."

All in all, she was actually quite proud of herself on how she had managed to avoid all of the couples activities and games that Ino had orchestrated. Choosing to mingle and catch up with a lot of people she really hadn't seen in a while, the time had flown by.  
Time had also seemed to steal her date away from her as well. As she reached for one of the bottles she had brought, she noticed that one was already empty and the other was well on its way as well. _At least I'll have an excuse to leave early _Sakura thought to herself and she filled up her glass once again.

She watched as everyone started to shuffle to the living room where the official countdown was going to be held. Leaning against the counter, she debated on whether or not she should even follow everyone. It would be easier to snake out unnoticed if she separated herself now and also a lot easier to avoid all of the single guys that had been eyeing her all night.  
Taking a big gulp of her wine, she sighed and leaned against the counter, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Having fun I see."  
Her eyes flew open as she watched Gaara saunter into the kitchen.  
"What brings you out to these parts?" Sakura asked surprised. Now that his sister was living in Konoha, Gaara had been around more often lately. But that didn't mean he didn't have his own responsibilities back in Suna.  
"Naruto invited me." He stated simply as he placed an empty glass on the counter next to her. "And Temari said it would be good for me." His aggravation came to the surface as he grabbed for a liquor bottle behind her. Shifting out of his way slower than usual due to the alcohol saturating her blood stream, she smiled at his obvious irritation.

"Ino told me the same thing."  
"You're here by yourself too?"  
Sakura nodded as she watched him poor the brown alcohol into his glass, stop to contemplate the level, then pour more.  
"I thought you came with that guy you've been talking to all night."  
"What guy?"  
"The one that's been following you around like a lost puppy."  
"Oh...him. No, that poor man-child came by himself. I've been doing my best to avoid him all night."  
"And failing miserably I see."  
She shrugged back at him. "Some people just can't take a hint."  
"Tell me about it." he mumbled as he sipped his drink.  
"I take it that pack of wild girls that keeps following you around aren't your dates either."  
"Good observation Haruno."

Sakura giggled and held up her glass, "To being single on New Years and preferring to keep it that way."  
"And to the people that try their hardest to change that."  
Their glasses clinked, and they both quickly downed their contents. Laughing at each other, Gaara took her glass from her and placed it on the counter.  
Pushing herself onto the counter, she watched in silence as he refilled drink.

"Gaara-sama, it's almost midnight!" A busty brunette whined from the entrance of the kitchen.  
"I'll be there in a second." he stated flatly. Sakura watched as his jaw muscles tightened.  
When the brunette left, Gaara stopped pouring their drinks and leaned heavily on the counter.  
"Friend of yours?"  
"No. But she'd like to be."  
"She's cute." Sakura offered.  
"Unfortunately, I have a few more requirements then just that."  
"I'm just saying, you could do a lot worse to bring in the new year."  
"Don't be too sure about that, you haven't had a conversation with her yet."  
"That bad, huh?"  
The look he threw her spoke volumes.

"One minute everyone!" They heard Ino's voice raise above everyone else's.

"Are you going to head in there?" she asked him as she swung her legs over the side of the counter.  
"I was actually looking for a place to hide. I didn't expect anyone else to be in here at this point of the night."  
"I was trying to hide too."  
His laugh came out as a low rumble from his chest as they clinked their glasses together once again.

Ten!  
Nine!  
Eight!

Sakura watched as couples in the other room started to wrap their arms around each other.

Five!  
Four!  
Three!

She was vaguely aware of him shifting next to her, gently brushing his arm against her leg.

Two!  
One!  
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Cheering, poppers, and noisemakers filled the house as everyone pulled each other into a kiss.  
His hand on her cheek drew her out of her reverie as he planted a soft kiss on her lips.  
"Happy New Year, Sakura." he mumbled against her mouth as she smiled against his.

The next day at breakfast, they both blamed the alcohol as they nursed their hangovers over a greasy breakfast and coffee. But when he asked her what she was doing later that night and mentioned that he really didn't have a reason to rush back to Suna, Sakura got the feeling that the new year was going to be much more interesting than the last one.


	2. Firsts

Prompt #2 - Firsts

* * *

"This looks disgusting."

Sakura rolled her eyes at him as she continued to slurp her bowl's contents down. She watched from her peripheral as he poked chunks of meat under the broth, only to have them bob to the surface once again.

"Would you stop playing with it and just eat it? It's delicious, I promise." Throwing a grimace her way, she smiled back at him. "I know it's not your favorite, but unfortunately, not everyone carries salted tongues and gizzards."

"Give it up, Sakura. He's always been a picky eater."  
Gaara shot his sister a quick glare from across the table before he resumed his meat bobbing.  
"Unfortunately, we could never break him of it either. It's hard enough making a normal kid eat things they don't like, let alone this one over here." Temari moved to poke him playfully in the arm with her chopsticks only to be restrained by his sand before she could reach him.  
"No sand at the table!" she scolded. "What kind of example are you setting for your nephew?"

"He's not even a year old, Temari. He doesn't even know what his name is." Gaara resumed digging through the contents of his bowl, searching every nook and cranny for some hidden horror he was sure was hidden in there.

"It's a long trip back to Suna, Gaara. You need to eat."  
"I'll be fine."  
"Eat."  
"No."  
"How will it look if the Kage stumbles through the gates of Suna about to pass out from hunger and exhaustion?"  
"That's why I married a medic." he quipped, pushing the bowl away from him.  
"_This_ medic only heals patients that take care of themselves."

"Sakura, if I eat this slop, I will be worse off then if I don't eat."

Sighing, Sakura leaned over and whispered something in Gaara's ear. Temari watch amused as her baby brother's mouth dropped open before going back to its normal passive position.

"You wouldn't."  
"Try me."

Gaara switched his gaze back and forth between Sakura and his food weighing his options.  
"What if..."  
"No."  
"But if I..."  
"No."  
Slouching down in his seat, Gaara mumbled a few choice words and begrudgingly took a bite.

Temari couldn't help but laugh.  
"_What_ is so funny." he asked, pinning her with one of his deadliest stares.  
"I've never seen you get bullied into doing anything your entire life. I guess there's a first time for everything."

"And Gaara, I mean _all _of it." Sakura added as she resumed eating her bowl throwing a wink at Temari.

When she had first moved to Konoha, Temari was worried about her two brothers. But now that she saw first hand the iron grip that Sakura had on Gaara, she knew she had left her brothers in good hands.


	3. Mythical

Prompt #3 - Mythical

* * *

"Thank you." Sakura said with a genuine smile as a little girl handed her a handful of flowers. She could tell the girl had handpicked them herself by their disheveled appearance. Sakura bent down and gave the girl a hug only to have the girl run off directly afterward.

That was the second little girl that day that had given her flowers as her and Gaara shopped in the town market. It had been an unseasonably cooler day and she bugged him to take a day off and go shopping with her. She had been living in Suna for a whole year now and never had a chance to furnish his mostly empty house with any kind of decorations from the local market.

"We're going to have to buy a vase." she joked as she held up her armful of flowers to him. Gaara gave her a knowing smirk and waited for her to catch up.

"These are beautiful!" she exclaimed as she gently brushed her hand against a wooden wind chime. The skill of the woodcarver was astonishing as patterns twisted and turned with the wood, opening up caverns that she hadn't seen before. "How much?"  
"For you, my lady, nothing."  
"No, no, no. I'm paying you for your work. These are too beautiful to give away! They must have taken you months to carve!"  
"I insist."

She threw Gaara a helpless look as the man grabbed her favorite chime off of the wall and started to gently wrap it up. On top of the flowers, that was the third item she had been given for free.  
"Why does this keep happening?" she whispered as the shop owner busied himself with adding paper to the package to cushion her chime.  
"Apparently you're a master negotiator." he deadpanned, watching the man work.  
"I haven't been negotiating _anything._"  
He only shrugged in response.

What she had intended to do that day was spend a lot of the well-earned money the two of them had made. But after the chime, shop owners kept adding to her list of free items. She received a beautiful handmade vase to hold all of the flowers she continued to get from the young village girls, an ornate mirror that was more a piece of art than an actual mirror, three rugs that would easily cover most of the floor space in their larger rooms, a heavy down comforter for their bed that had hand-sewn depictions of the beginnings of Suna, and finally, a bookshelf that must have taken the man five years to carve out all of the details on it.

Gaara had transported the larger items back to the house for them while they carried the rest.  
"Ready to head home?"  
"Can we stop and get something to eat? All of my non-haggling has made me famished."  
Gaara only smirked and held out his arm for her to take. As they walked linked together, Sakura was tapped on the shoulder by an old woman. The woman reminded her of Chiyo and Sakura's heart began to tighten instantly.  
"My lady." the woman said as she offered Sakura a necklace embroidered by the brightest green emeralds Sakura had ever seen.  
Sakura's mouth dropped open as she brushed her fingers against the gems.  
"I really can't..." Sakura said exasperated.  
The woman slowly knelt in front of her and offered the necklace to her again, arms outstretched above her head.

"It's too valuable. You should keep it for your family." She offered, trying to convince the woman to stand up again.  
"This necklace has been in my family for this exact purpose." The woman responded.  
"At least let me pay you for it..."  
"Sakura, don't insult the woman." Gaara said behind her.  
Chewing her lip, she nodded her head and the woman stood to gently clasp it around her neck. When Sakura turned to face her once again, tears began forming in the woman's eyes as she kissed Sakura's hands.  
"Thank you, thank you." she whispered, before she slowly started to walk away from them.

Sakura drummed her fingers on the table staring daggers at Gaara as he skimmed the menu in front of him.  
"I thought you said you were hungry."  
"I am."  
"Then why aren't you looking at the menu."  
"My curiosity is overriding my stomach right now." she said as she narrowed her eyes at him. "You know why all of those people were giving me free gifts, don't you."  
"Maybe."  
"Tell me!"  
She wanted to reach across the table and wipe that smirk off his face. "Later."

He ate in silence as she started to plan out where everything was going to go in the house.  
"I'm probably going to need your help with some of the things..." she said as she picked a vegetable off of her plate.  
"It's already done."  
"What is?"  
"Everything. I was putting them where you wanted them with my sand."  
Sakura's mouth formed a silent 'oh'. "What if I change my mind when we get home?"  
"Then I'll help you move it again."

Sakura couldn't help but smile again. "You really are the greatest, you know that?"  
Shaking his head at her, he returned to his food, "Eat your food, Sakura."

That night, before bed, Sakura sat on the mattress and admired the needlework on the comforter once again.  
She heard Gaara's bare feet walk in behind her and felt the mattress move next to her as he sat down. "And this is my gift to you." he said as he handed her an old, decrepit book.  
"What is it?" she asked, gingerly taking the novel from his hands.  
"Ancient tales and legends of Suna. I've bookmarked the pages you will find the most interesting." He said before he planted a kiss on her forehead.  
"Where are you going?"  
"I have to do _some_ work today. Otherwise I'll be buried tomorrow."

Alone in the room once again, Sakura pulled the sheets back and gently opened the book.

"This is _ridiculous!_ she exclaimed as he came pounding into Gaara's study a few hours later. "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?!"  
"Finished reading, I see." he said as he folded his arms on the desk.  
"This isn't funny, Gaara! Is this how the people in the village _actually_ see me?"  
"You wanted to know why they kept giving you everything for free."  
"I thought they were just being nice!"  
"By giving you some of their most valuable possessions?"  
"Well...no. But still! It's not like I asked them to give those things to me! And I most certainly didn't ask for _this_!" Sakura motioned to the book before she placed it on his desk.  
"Think of it from their perspective."  
"I've tried! It's still too ridiculous! They paint you like some rabid beast that had to be trained with whips and chains to become who you are today! You are definitely not foaming at the mouth, and I am most definitely _not_ a beast tamer."  
"Monster tamer." Gaara corrected.  
"That's worse!" she exclaimed, covering her face with her hands.

She heard him move and gave in as he pulled her into his arms. Burying her face into his chest, she let his heartbeat calm her down.  
"Try to think of it as a compliment. After all, if they find out how easy you have it, they might take all of those gifts back."  
"Not funny." she said, pulling back and poking him in the chest. "They can't seriously believe all of that."  
"No, but they believe the concept of it. Lone ex-jinchuuriki leading his village into an unknown future. Until someone comes along and changes the course of history and the village prospers because of it. That story has been passed down through the centuries and, in their eyes, is finally coming true."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it."  
"I didn't think you would. But you don't really have a choice in the matter."  
"Is this why you've been avoiding going shopping with me?"  
"Maybe."  
Sighing and returning her head to his chest, Sakura relaxed into his embrace.  
"Well, at least now I know how I can convince them to let me pay next time."  
"How's that?"  
"I'll threaten to unleash my rabid monster on them."  
Sakura stopped his eye roll by planting a kiss on his lips.


	4. Rebellious

Prompt #4 - Rebellious (I had a hard time with this one)

* * *

"Sakura, now is not the time to start becoming rebellious."  
"I am _not _rebelling."  
"You're disobeying a direct order from me."  
"And you're not my Kage or my Unit Leader, so I don't have to follow any of your orders."

"Why are you doing this?" he asked, face falling. He was still sitting down at the table where, a few minutes ago, they were sharing a peaceful breakfast.  
"Because I care about you. Is that so hard to wrap your mind around?"  
"I know you do."  
"Then why are you so surprised when I tell you that I'm not following your order to go to the _other side_ of the battle away from you and the others? You're lining yourself up to fight Madara, which is basically lining yourself up with death. I'm going to be close by in case something goes wrong."

"And I'm asking you not to."  
"I _know_ what you're asking me to do!" she yelled, throwing the dirty plate she had in her hand across the tent. The simple clay plate shattered against the ground. She knew that the people around their tent would have heard that, but suddenly all of the people outside, her fellow shinobi that she had sworn to protect, no longer mattered.  
She also knew her outburst would tip the scales of his anger, since he was still an extremely private person and preferred to keep his private life just that, private.

"Gaara-sama?" Baki's voice hesitantly called from outside the tent.  
"It's fine, Baki."  
Sakura felt his chakra linger by the tent a few more moments before he decided to leave and give the two of them some space.

"Keep your voice down."  
"NO!"  
"Sakura..." he warned, fists clenching against the table.  
"I'm done listening to what you tell me to do! I will not abandon you and Tsunade and I will _not_ keep my voice down! You're basically committing suicide tomorrow! If you think I'm just going to sit back and wait to hear about the outcome then you _are _crazy!"

She had seen it too many times before during this war. Friends and allies alike, giving bad news to shinobi that had lost loved ones.  
Years of training on masking emotions and remaining strong never seemed to factor in whenever someone got that news.  
Everyone reacted differently, but their reactions always boiled down to the same emotion: sorrow. Gut wrenching, soul consuming sorrow.  
She had already seen him dead on the ground once. That was one memory she would not like to revisit...let alone make it permanent this time around.  
She felt tears building up behind her eyes, and instead of letting him see them, she turned her back and continued to clean up the remaining dirty dishes.

"I'm asking that you not fight me on this."  
"And again, why do I have listen to anything you ask me to do." She was proud of herself for keeping her voice level and not allowing it to shake.  
His arms were around her before she could react, but she wouldn't allow herself to relax into his embrace. She wouldn't give him that.  
"_I'm _asking you, Sakura. Not as a Kage. Not as a Unit Leader. Just me."

The tears pushed harder this time.  
"You're asking me to let you die."  
"I'm asking you to stay safe. To stay alive."  
"And when you're gone, what kind of life would that be?"  
"An alive one?"

She felt his cheek pull into a smirk against her ear.  
"I'm glad you find this amusing."

He forced her to turn around and face him. Something she had dreaded since she had turned her back to him. Her tears would show him that he had won. That the only reason why she was still holding her ground was because she didn't want to believe the truth.

"I need to focus all of my concentration on this battle tomorrow. And I can't do that with you anywhere near there. Madara knows about us. He will use everything in his power to win if he thinks for an instant that he will lose. I can't let him use you against me."  
"But if I'm there and things go wrong..."  
"If you're there, things _will_ go wrong."  
"I can save you."  
"Could Tsunade save Dan?"

There was no holding her tears back anymore. They spilled freely over her cheeks and hit the ground as she refused to look him in the eyes.  
A rough thumb smoothed over her cheek and stopped her tears for a brief second.  
"I've been through worse battles than this. I survived the battle with my father, and you remember how worked up about that one you got, don't you?"  
"This is different."

Resting his nose against hers, she clenched the fabric of his shirt in her hands to stop the tremors that started to wrack her body.  
"Promise you won't do anything reckless."  
"I'm never reckless."  
"You _always _are."  
She felt his silent chuckle against her face, cooling the wet spots on her face for a brief second.  
Pulling away to look him in the eye, "_Promise_ me."  
"I promise."

She wanted to make him promise to survive.  
To come back to her.  
But she knew that was unrealistic, and he wasn't really the unrealistic type.

"And you'll promise to stay away?"  
The words seemed to get lodged in her throat, so she nodded her head instead. He sighed in relief as he pulled her into a kiss.  
"But if you think I'm allowing you to leave this tent for any reason today..." she threatened.  
"I wasn't planning on it." he mumbled against her neck.

Hours later, after the sun had set behind the horizon and the moon replaced it in the sky, sleep eluded her.  
She laid next to him admiring how pale his skin looked in the moonlight and felt his even breaths gently brush against her face.  
It was nights like this that she hated the most.  
The nights where she regretted the life she had chosen for herself. Where every turn could possibly hold death, and when loved ones could be torn away from you without any warning.  
Outsiders will tell you that it makes you savor every moment, makes you enjoy every second you have on this earth, but she knew that wasn't true.  
Just because you know death could come at any second doesn't make it any easier to accept it. And it most definitely doesn't make it any easier to let go.


	5. Bonds

Prompt #6 - Bonds

* * *

If you would have told him decades ago that a single idea of planting Shukaku into one of the children of the Kazekage would have put him where he was today, he probably would have killed you.

If he hadn't been compatible with Shukaku, then his mother wouldn't have died.  
If his mother hadn't died, his Uncle wouldn't have had to take care of him.  
If they hadn't made him the jinchuuriki of the village, no one would have feared him.  
If no one had feared him, then his Uncle and Father would not have tried to kill him.  
If they had not tried to kill him, he would have never turned into the monster they all wanted him to be.  
Had he not turned into this monster, he would have never focused on Sasuke during the chuunin exams.  
Had he not focused on killing Sasuke, he would have never had fought Naruto.  
Had he never had fought Naruto, he wouldn't of changed his outlook on everything.  
Had he not changed his outlook on everything, he would have never made amends with his brother and sister.  
Had he never made amends with his brother and sister, he wouldn't have the protection he needed in this life.  
Had he not made amends with his brother and sister, the villagers of Suna would have never given him the opportunity to change their view of him.  
Had the villagers never accepted him, he would have never been named Kazekage.  
Had he never been Kazekage, then he would have never taken the Akatsuki on face to face.  
Had he not have participated in that battle, then he would have never found out who the rebels in his country were.  
Had he not found out who the rebels were, joining the Allied Shinobi Forces would never have become a reality for Suna.  
Had Suna not joined the war, it would still be in a state of decline instead of flourishing.  
...had he never had fought Naruto, he would never have had strong bonds with the past three Hokage of Konoha, including Naruto himself.  
...had he never had fought Naruto, he wouldn't be sitting where he was today.  
...had he never had fought Naruto, he would never...

"What're you thinking so hard about?" A warm finger pressed into the center of his forehead, drawing him out of his reflection and filling his view with green eyes and pink hair.  
"Things past."  
Her face fell, "bad things?"  
"Not all bad, only some."  
"Well stop it and come eat, dinner is ready."  
"I"ll be there in a second."  
He waited until she was out of sight before he finished his thought and allowed himself to smile:  
He would never have met her.


	6. Matrimony

Prompt #9 - Matrimony

* * *

"You know, I only ever wanted a small wedding." She pouted next to him as she reviewed the scroll he had just handed to her.  
The scroll was a list of guests who would be attending from the Mist village. She briefly scanned the document, signed the bottom, and added it to the ever growing guest acceptance pile.  
"How many guests does that make now?"  
"Four hundred, excluding Sand."  
He smiled in amusement as she melted into a pile of overwhelmedness next to him.  
"We still haven't gotten one from Konoha yet either." He added, watching her sink further down into her seat.

"We could call the whole thing off." He offered, sliding another scroll her way. She didn't even look that one over, just signed it from her slouched position and added it to the same pile as the last.  
"_Out_ of the question." she muttered, throwing him a glare as she snatched another scroll out of his hands.  
"We _could_ elope and get married in secret." She added.  
"You're involved with the wrong guy if that's what you want." Breaking the seal on another scroll, he scanned the list more carefully since she wasn't even looking at them anymore.  
"You don't want this either." She offered.  
"Unfortunately, my wants are always overridden by the villagers' wants."

Sighing in defeat, she threw the new scroll into the pile.  
"My wrist hurts...how do you do this all day?"  
"You get use to it."  
"I don't think I ever want to get use to this. How many more are there?"  
"Three."  
Her face lit up as she sat up in her chair again.  
"Then we have to figure out where we are going to sit all of these people. Some still have grudges against each other."  
"Let's get rid of the seating thing all together and make everyone stand."  
"You wish."  
"Or how about we don't have assigned seating, and everyone can grab a chair where they want."  
He blinked and looked at her, "I think the elders would actually agree to that one."  
Puffing her chest up in triumph, Sakura signed the last scroll.

"We still have to see Yuri." he muttered.  
Sakura's triumph deflated instantly. If there was one thing she hated more than signing all of these scrolls, it was dealing with the assigned wedding planner they had been given.  
"Please, no." she pleaded, grabbing the sleeve of his shirt.  
"I don't want to go anymore than you do. But she said it was urgent."  
"What can be so urgent? The wedding is still months away!"  
"Something about birds..."  
Sakura's face turned a deep shade of angry red. "I _told_ her I don't want any live animals! This whole thing is already outrageously extravagant! The last thing I want is for doves to be flying around in the background!"  
"You were overruled."  
"By who?!"  
"The elders." they both finished together.

This time, they both slid down into their seats in defeat.  
"Remind me, why did you want to become Kazekage again?" she mumbled with her head against his shoulder.  
"This wasn't exactly something I could foresee..."  
They sat in silence, hands linked together as they stared at the mountain of scrolls on his desk.  
"What time do we have to see Yuri?"  
"Five minutes."

Standing up in defeat, she started to move toward the door.  
"Look on the bright side," he offered, pressing his hand gently into the small of her back. "Maybe one of the birds will crap on her."  
Throwing him a wide smile, she linked her arm in his as they walked to their appointment together.


	7. Surprise! It's A Girl!

Prompt#10 - Surprise! It's a Girl!

* * *

He had been dreading this day for months.  
Of all the preparing the two of them had done, he still didn't feel ready at all.  
The room buzzed around him in excitement as he sat in a chair with his elbows on his knees. He watched as his brother and sister talked excitedly with Sakura's friends that had come in support.  
Why wasn't he as excited as they were? He should be, he _wanted_ to be...he just didn't have the energy for it.

"Cheer up!" a hand smacked the back of his shoulders as Naruto's ever growing smile was rubbed into his face.  
"Why haven't we heard anything?" he asked, returning his gaze to the door that Sakura and Tsunade were behind.  
"Don't worry, Gaara! Everything will be fine!" Naruto's enthusiasm made his stomach churn. They couldn't guarantee that everything would be fine. They had said the same thing about his mother, and she had left that room in a casket.

A shadow crossed over his vision as he looked up into the faces of his brother and sister.  
"It won't be like last time." Temari offered.  
"You don't know that."  
"Isn't that why you accepted Tsunade's offer? So you wouldn't have to worry about this?"

His brother was right. A month ago, Tsunade had sent a scroll more or less demanding that she be the one to deliver their child. Given her incredible medical background, he had gladly accepted.  
...It still didn't help though.

"Think about something else." Temari offered, sitting down in the seat next to him and wrapping her arm protectively over his shoulders.  
"Like what?"  
"Think about holding your child for the first time. Watching him grow up to become an extraordinary shinobi. Think about how your nephew will look playing with him..."  
Gaara threw her a small smirk before his jaw clenched tight again.

"Think about all the things Bolt will teach him!" Naruto threw in, nudging his arm gently.  
"Your son will not be teaching _anything_ to mine." Gaara threatened back.  
"There." Naruto beamed. "He's back to normal."

The door flung open and a smiling Tsunade stepped into the room. His vision narrowed to her face only, blocking out everyone else in the room.  
"Sakura and the baby are doing great!" Tsunade boomed. "They are both happy _and _healthy." she added, looking directly at Gaara.

All of his stress melted away and was replaced by overwhelming happiness. That was exactly what he had needed to hear.  
"Congratulations, Gaara. It's a girl!" Tsunade smiled widely at him.  
The stress returned when he heard his sister snicker next to him and felt Naruto's hand pat him on the back.  
Visions of a miniature Sakura mixed with Temari filled his head only to be replaced with visions of future dates and crushes on boys like Bolt.

"Good luck baby brother." Temari said as she squeezed his shoulder. "You're going to need it."


	8. Retirement

I'm so far behind... _  
Prompt #11 - Retirement. Nooooot really sure where this one was going. Just kind of threw this thing together...

* * *

The crowd gave a cheer and applauded as the elder onstage wrapped up his speech. Thanking everyone once more, Elder Aki picked Gaara out of the crowd and thanked him personally. Gaara raised his drink in the air in response. Aki slowly and carefully walked off the stage and joined the rest of the group.

"That was sweet." Sakura smiled as she sipped her drink.  
"He's always been like that. I wish someone else was retiring instead of him. He was always really great to work with."  
"Now that he's gone, what will happen?"  
"I'll start getting gray hairs."  
She nudged his side with her elbow and smiled again. Looking around the room, she studied all the smiling faces around them. She watched as Aki repeatedly bowed to his fellow coworkers, thanking them for years well past. A middle-aged woman stood behind him, tears filling her eyes and Sakura couldn't help her curiosity.  
"Who's that?"  
"That's Hana, Aki's daughter."  
"Why is she crying?"  
"She didn't think he would get the chance to retire."  
"Why's that?"  
"She thought I would kill him."  
Face falling, Sakura threw a glare at the woman and stated simply, "I don't like her."  
"That means you don't like anyone in this room."  
"Correct."

Pulling her into his side, he gave her a little squeeze and kissed her forehead. Standing silently, Sakura couldn't stop her gaze from wandering to the now empty stage.  
"Do you ever think about it?"  
"What?"  
"Retiring."  
"Hn."  
"I'm serious," she countered, pulling away only to look him in the eyes.  
"I don't want to talk about it."  
Pouting slightly, she added, "I think about it sometimes...getting old and leaving all of this behind."  
"Do you?"  
"Yeah! I think about what it would feel like to wake up in the morning and have nothing to do and no where pressing to be. To smooth back wrinkles on my face and watch by hair turn white. It sounds like heaven right now...well, the first part anyway. Not so much the wrinkles part."

"I've never thought about it."  
"Why not?"  
"Kages aren't really supposed to retire."  
Her face fell once again.  
"See? That's why I didn't want to talk about it."  
"Things are different now though. The Villages are all peaceful and flourishing, do you really think things will go back to the way they were before?"  
"I'm not that naive. There will always be people in this world who are angry with the way things are run and will want to change it, be it by force or otherwise. How each country reacts to these rebels will tell how long this peace will last."  
"Well, _I'm _at least going to stay optimistic and envision us growing old and handing Suna over to the younger generation. Besides, I like picturing you with white hair."  
Gaara snorted and shook his head at her.  
"Your back will definitely need a lot of care." Sakura added. "Years of carrying that heavy gourd around will definitely cause issues later in life."

"Sakura, don't." he warned, throwing her a serious glare.  
"What?"  
"The _last_ thing I need is for you to start imagining made up health issues for me down the road. You'll start spiking my tea with your disgusting homemade remedies."  
Rolling her eyes, she muttered, "They're not that bad."  
"I don't see you trying them on yourself." he added.

The party continued on into the night. At some point, everyone stopped to talk to the two of them briefly and then continued on.  
Sakura chuckled to herself and set her empty glass down on the counter next to her.  
"What?"  
"Every person in this room will keep you in meetings until all hours of the night. But when they're not talking about work, they barely have anything to talk to you about."  
Gaara shrugged. "We don't really have anything in common. Different generations."  
Sakura shook her head, stifling a yawn behind her hand.

Gaara finished his drink in one gulp and placed his glass next to hers. "Speaking of retiring, are you about ready to head home?"  
Smiling up at him, she nodded and linked her hand with his.

She knew he was right, of course. Dreaming of retirement was something that only time could make true. But as the two of them covertly left the party, she had a feeling that eventually they would be doing the same thing at their own.


	9. AU

Just found three stories that I started for GaaSaku month that were never finished...

* * *

The sandstorm raged around her as she tried her best to shield her eyes from the stinging sand. Everything in her screamed to go back to safety. Every step she took forward was a struggle since her instincts were trying to take over her body and prevent her from going any further into the storm.  
Her heightened senses were dulled as the world swirled around her. Pulling out a tattered map to try and figure out where she was, she desperately grasped at air as the wind quickly took it out of her hands.

A roar sounded in the distance and echoed around her, confusing her sense of direction more. She thought she had been going the right way, but now she couldn't be sure. The roar had come from all around and it didn't sound like she was getting any closer. Pulling the cloth around her face tighter, she pressed on into the storm.

Her feet were heavy in the sand as she tried her best to lift her legs out of it every time she took a step. As time wore on, she switched to just shuffling and dragging them under the sand.  
_Why am I doing this?_ she wondered as a stronger gust of wind forced her to stop and shield her face once again. _This is insane, I should go back_. But at this point, she didn't know where "back" was exactly. Looking behind her, she forced the mounting panic in her chest down as she watched her footprints quickly disappear.

Another roar sounded, only this time it was closer. _Go back, idiot! _her mind screamed. _Whatever that thing is, it will kill you! Go back, go back to safety!_ Pushing the voice aside, she kept walking. For some reason, she had to get to whatever was roaring. She wasn't sure why, but she thought if she could just get to whatever it was, everything would be fine.

She wasn't sure how long she walked for, or how many circles she went in; but when the storm started to become more violent, she knew she was close. Shielding herself behind some rocks, she took a moment to rest. Gasping for air, she shook her clothes off and readjusted them to fully cover her skin once again. A low rumble shook the ground and Sakura froze. Fighting against her own body, she slowly moved to look behind the rocks.  
Sand swirled violently around a giant sand demon as it just sat in the open.

_Move_ her body told her, and she did, but not in the direction her body wanted her to. Moving as fast as she could, she made her way to the beast, desperation replacing the panic that was building in her chest.  
_Almost there._  
The beast roared once again and Sakura couldn't help but cover her ears. The wind gusted against her and forced her to the ground. She opened her mouth to scream a name, but the sand choked her and prevented the words from coming out.  
The beast turned on her and growled. The wind grew stronger and blew the cloth away from her face. She felt the sand cut her skin as she held her hands up.  
"Please..." she whispered.  
The ground shook as the giant beast took a step toward her.  
"Stop...please...GAARA!"  
And suddenly, everything stopped.

Sakura jolted awake. Everything around her confused her at first, but eventually faded to familiarity.  
She was in their room, surrounded by their things, in their bed. The sun filtered through their apartment window and made the room unbearably bright. Taking long, deep breathes, she tried to calm herself down. _It was just a dream_. The goosebumps that formed on her skin eventually faded away as the residual dream panic died.

Looking to her right, she noticed that he was already awake. With the next deep breathe, she smelled coffee and heard a cupboard door creaking open and close. Sliding off the side of the bed, she quickly grabbed one of his shirts off the floor and padded toward the noise.

"Good morning." a deep voice said from the kitchen. Before he could say anything else, Sakura threw her arms around his neck.  
Completely unprepared, Gaara stumbled forward and tried his best to not spill his hot coffee all over her. He felt his anger rise, but pushed it down when he realized that something was wrong.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked as he put his mug on the counter in order to return her embrace.  
When she didn't respond, he sighed and waited.  
"I had the craziest dream...I was in the middle of the desert caught in a sandstorm that you were causing. And you were this giant sand demon that tried to kill me..."  
"That's what all this is about?" he asked, humor lacing in his voice. Pushing her away gently, he forced her chin up to make her look at him.  
"Do I _look_ like a sand demon?"  
Sakura smiled and shook her head 'no' before returning her head to his chest.  
"It was a dream, Sakura."  
"I know, but it felt so real."  
Taking a deep breath, she let the smell of him calm her down completely.  
When he felt her body relax against him completely, he moved and said, "Come on, drink some coffee and I'll make breakfast."  
Planting a swift kiss on his cheek, she reached behind him and grabbed his mug before she made her way to the couch.  
"I didn't mean _my _coffee." She heard him grumble as he opened the cupboard once more for another mug.  
"Consider it your penance for trying to kill me."  
"It was a _dream_, Sakura."

Sticking her tongue out at him, she settled into the couch. Blowing the steam off the top of her cup, she closed her eyes and listened to her surroundings. Car horns blared down the street, people's voices filtered up through the window, radios blared in cars. In the kitchen, the sound of Gaara cooking breakfast filled in the rest of the silence.  
Taking one more deep breath, Sakura sipped her coffee and melted deeper into the couch. _It was only a dream._


End file.
